How to Advertise on Instagram?
Instagram is the 7th most visited website in the world (Hootsuite). India tops the chart with 263.8 million active Instagram users in India (Status Brew). Lets discuss what makes this social platform popular and how one can perform advertising on Instagram to reach their target audience faster.
Indians spend 2.36 hours on Instagram daily, which is a significant amount of time considering the average internet usage time in India is over 7 hours per day. Instagram became popular because of its visual nature.
Hence, businesses that need to put the designs of their products in front of the audience, require marketing through Instagram. Marketers can reach nearly 1.5 billion potential audience with ads on Instagram(Status Brew).
When the brand reach can be so extensive, it is important that today businesses make best use of Instagram advertising.
What is Advertising on Instagram?
Let us read what is Instagram Advertising:
- Instagram advertising is creating and placing ads on the platform to reach a specific audience.
- Under this, Advertisers can create photo, video, carousel, and story ads that target users based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and more. The ads can appear in a user’s feed, stories, or explore pages.
- Instagram advertising is managed through the Facebook Ads Manager and can be used to promote products and services or drive website traffic.
- Instagram advertising is about paid social media marketing where a brand can post content that will appear in the stories and posts of the target audience.
- Using Instagram Ads, brands have the opportunity to explore their creativity and engage the audience.
More the followers =Higher probability of Interaction with potential customers
- Instagram platform provides a variety of ad formats, targeting options, and analytics to help businesses promote their products and measure advertising performance.
Read: Benefits of Instagram Ads You Should Know
Types of Instagram Ads
One type of ad for one brand may not yield the same response for another brand in a different segment. And that is why marketing strategies differ for each industry.
Instagram Ads will be displayed on the newsfeed and will be marked as “Sponsored”. The platform has a selection criteria based on the bids and the relevance to the users. Let us first read the different types of ads for instagram and then decide which one you should choose for your business.
Image ads
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- Instagram image ads feature several photos and these can be featured on Instagram Feed and Stories. These ads feature a link to the product page that helps the customers to reach straight at the destination.
Source:bigcommerce.com
- Instagram image ads are a form of advertising that lets businesses use visually appealing images to promote their products or services on the Instagram platform. These ads can be square, portrait, or landscape, and they can appear in the news feed, stories, or explore page.
- Image ads on Instagram can drive many objectives, such as website clicks, app installs, and lead generation.
- They can also be targeted to specific audiences based on factors such as demographics, interests, and behavior.
- Instagram image ads can be created in several ways, including single images, carousels, and collections. These ads effectively connect with users visually and make them engage with your brand or product.
- All images used on Instagram should be a maximum of 30 MB.
- The technical requirement for Instagram Ads mentions that image files be either in JPG or PNG format.
Stories ads
- An Instagram Story ad is a paid content in stories that the users watch.
- Instagram stories are full-screen vertical photos and videos that appear at the top of the platform.
- Organic stories are live only for 24 hours but the Instagram Story ads will run as long as the campaign is live.
- Stories can be fun and interactive. Brands can use different stickers, filters, and effects to spread their message powerfully.
- For creating a story ads, users will have to note these requirements:
| Aspect Ratio | 9:16 |
| Recommended Dimensions | 1080px X1920px |
| Minimum Dimension | 600px X1067px |
| Video File Type | .mp4 or .mov |
| Max Video File Size | 250 MB |
| Photo File Type | .jpg or .png |
| Max Photo File Size | 30MB |
| Video Length | 60 minutes |
| Supported Video Codecs | H.264, VP8 |
| Supported Audio Codecs | AAC, Vorbis |
Video ads
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- Instagram video ads are advertising on the social media platform that allows businesses and organizations to promote their products or services through short videos.
- These ads can appear in a user’s feed, the Stories feature, or the Explore section of the app.
- They can target specific audiences based on location, demographics, and interests. Businesses can create and run video ads on Instagram through the Facebook Ads Manager or by using a third-party advertising platform.
- Some of the guidelines to create Instagram Video ads:
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- Video length: Instagram video ads must be between 3 seconds and 60 seconds in length.
- File size: Video files must be less than 4 GB in size.
- Video format: Instagram accepts the most common formats, including .mp4 and .mov.
- Aspect ratio: Videos must have an aspect ratio between 9:16 and 16:9.
- Sound: Videos can be played with or without sound, but if the sound is used, it must be captioned.
- Prohibited content: Videos cannot contain any content that is illegal, discriminatory, sexually suggestive, violent, or otherwise offensive.
- Ad placement: Videos ads can be placed on the main feed, stories or IGTV, but not on the Reels feature.
- Landing page: The landing page must be appropriate, relevant to the ad, and not misleading.
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- Prohibited video ad content:
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- Discriminatory practices
- Unsafe substance
- Adult content
- Adult products and services
- “Sensational” content
- Misinformation
- Personal attributes
- Cheating and deceitful practices
- Grammar and profanity
- Ads for online gambling
- Alcohol related advertisement
- Promotion for dating services
- Promotion for online pharmacies
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Carousel ads
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- Instagram Carousel Ads is another way that inspires brands to connect with their target audience through deeper storytelling.
- The carousels are slide shows in ad format that allows the users to slide through multiple images or videos in a single post.
- These ads are quite creative for industries that depend on beautiful imagery and have to show multiple products in just one advertisement.
- For effective Instagram Carousel Ads, you should target each audience strategically and intrigue the viewers with the deals. Brands should also choose CTA carefully and try to include video content to make the post interesting.
- Guidelines for carousel ads:
| Maximum photos/videos | 10 |
| Minimum photos/videos | 2 |
| Image file format | JPG and PNG |
| Maximum video length | 4GB for up to 60 seconds |
| Text in images | 20% or less |
| Maximum hashtags | 30 |
| Supported CTA button | Shop Now, Book Now, Learn More, Get Showtimes, Sign Up, Download, Watch More, Donate Now, Get Offer, Subscribe |
Collection ads
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- Instagram Collection Ad is a marketing strategy that includes a cover image or video followed by three product images.
- Collection ads can benefit your business in terms of increase in conversions, spreading brand awareness, driving traffic, increasing the sale rate, and improving the probability of store visits.
- Collection ad specifications:
| Minimum height & width of images | 500 px X 500 px |
| Aspect | 1:1 |
| Frame rate | fixed |
| Video compression | 264 |
- Collection ads are available for both Instagram and Facebook.
- Brands are most commonly using videos as the cover because of the fact that videos tend to engage people more.
- The loading is fast which brings an immersive experience without leaving the website.
Explore ads
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- The word suggests what Instagram explores ads spell. The ad is found in Instagram’s Explore tab. This is the place where maximum users go to explore the videos and photos of their interest.
- It is an ideal place for business videos and ads because people are already looking for something new and exciting. Though the ads do not appear in the feed but are displayed contextually only after the user scrolls through.
- Explore ads give an opportunity to create culturally relevant and trending ads that will capture the attention of the new audience.
- These Instagram ads are extensions of standard feed campaigns using automatic placements in Explore.
- Explore ads specifications:
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Image size Depend on the ad format you select. - Square
- 600 X500px to 1936 X1936 px
- Landscape
- 600 x 315 px to 1936 x 1936 px
- Vertical
- 600 x 750 px to 1936 x 1936 px
Video file size Up to 4 GB Video length Up to 120 seconds Caption length Up to 2200 characters Aspect Ratio Depend on the format - Square
1:1 - Landscape
1.91:1 - Vertical
4:5 IGTV ads
- IGTV ads are short video ads that can be seen by the audience who browse IGTV.
- Instagram IGTV ads boost visibility of products and services. It gives an opportunity to effectively educate and entertain audiences because people love to watch videos more.
- IGTV ads on Instagram bring higher opportunities for engagement and conversions.
- The social media platform boosted its use by introducing IGTV monetisation. It helped content creators to engage more with the platform and gave brands a chance to try their luck after engaging with their target audience.
- The best IGTV video ads are less than 650MB file size. Some more specifications for Instagram IGTV Ads:
| Recommended Resolution | 1080 X1920 px |
| Aspect Ratio | 9:16 |
| Formats | MP4, MOV |
| Video File Size | 4GB |
| Video length for carousels and stories | 15 seconds |
| Video length for IGTV | 10 minutes |
| Must have a resolution | 720 p |
| Recommended video codecs | H.264, VP8 |
| Recommended audio codecs | AAC, Vorbis |
Reels ad
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- Like story ads, Instagram Reels ads are a permanent content source.
- The length of the video content should be 30 seconds.
- Reel ads are short, vertical video ads, usually 15 seconds or less, used on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
- They are designed to be engaging and attention-grabbing and are often used to promote products, services, or events. Reel ads allow businesses to reach a broad audience creatively and interactively.
- Organic Reel ads appear at regular intervals when users watch reels.
- Some of the objectives for which the Reels ad can be based include traffic, converting leads, promoting your product or brand, reach,and views on videos.
- As such there is no standard format to follow for Reels ads.
- Advertisers do not have options for paid promotions. But they can use the Reels ad to educate their audience and build trust among consumers for a brand.
- Brands can collaborate with social media influencers to compel the audience to buy the products.
- When you approach your audience using Instagram Reels Ads, you need to follow some best practices to make the ads. Some of these include time the reel to fit in 30 seconds. Keep in loop things that catch people’s attention.
- Add audio and text to the reels so that the audience gets wider. Some of the people may watch reels with their mobiles on mute. The text can still help them stick to your content.
After knowing the types of ads one can create on Instagram, let us read how to choose the best Instagram Ad Type.
How To Choose The Best Instagram Ad Type?
Choosing the best ad type on Instagram can be a little tricky for your business because before that you have to define the purpose of creating an ad on Instagram.
To advertise effectively on Instagram, you must remember your target audience. Consider their peak engagement times and the type of content that will best capture their attention.
- Objective & Target Audience: When choosing an ad type, consider your objectives and target audience. For example, carousel and image ads are ideal for driving website traffic, while story ads are better for increasing brand awareness.
- Budget: Some ad types may be more expensive than others. Consider your budget and choose an ad type that fits within your budget while still effectively reaching your target audience.
- Creativity: Instagram provides multiple ad formats, some highly creative and interactive; choose the one that best reflects your brand and message.
Ultimately, it’s essential to test different ad types and see which performs best for your business.
How to Create Ads on Instagram?
It’s important to note that Instagram ads are created and managed through Facebook ads manager, so you’ll need a Facebook account to make them.
These are the simple steps you can follow to advertise effectively on Instagram:
- To create an Instagram ad, you need a Facebook Business Manager account. This lets you manage ads across multiple platforms.
- Once you have a Facebook Business Manager account, create a new campaign and choose an objective that aligns with your business goals. Then, use the targeting options to define your ideal audience.
- Finally, create your ad by selecting the best format for your objective and audience. You can choose from photo and video ads, carousel ads, and more.
- Select the ad objective which could be lead generation, more traffic, engagement, app installs, brand awareness, and sales.
- Write your ad text, choose an image or video, and add a call-to-action button.
- Then, set your budget and decide how long your ad will run. You can also schedule when your ad will appear.
- Once you’re done, submit your ad for review. Instagram will check to ensure it meets its guidelines before making it live.
- After your ad runs, track its performance and make changes if needed.
Conclusion
Brands must advertise on Instagram to compete with their rivals. It is a cost-effective way to quickly connect with their target audience. For your queries on Instagram Ads, you can write to us hello[at]noboruworld.com.
FAQs:
Why Advertise on Instagram?
There are several reasons why businesses choose to advertise on Instagram:
- Reach a large and engaged audience. Instagram has over 2 billion active users worldwide and is highly engaged with the platform.
- Target your ads to specific demographics and interests. Instagram’s targeting options allow you to reach the people most likely to be interested in your products or services.
- Use a variety of ad formats to tell your story. Instagram offers a variety of ad formats, including photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, and story ads, so you can choose the layout that best suits your needs.
- Track your results and measure the success of your campaigns. Instagram provides detailed insights into your ad performance so you can see what’s working and what’s not.
How Much Does It Cost to Advertise on Instagram?
The cost of advertising on Instagram can vary depending on several factors, including your ad format, targeting options, and budget.
Instagram uses an auction-based system for ad delivery, where you set a budget and bid for ad space against other advertisers. The cost of your ad will depend on the competition for ad space and the relevance of your ad to the target audience.
| Ad Format | Cost Range |
| Instagram Feed Ads | $0.20 to $2.00 per click or like |
| Instagram Stories Ads | $0.15 to $1.50 per click or swipe up |
| Instagram Carousel Ads | $0.30 to $2.50 per click |
| Instagram Video Ads | $0.25 to $2.50 per view |
| Instagram Shopping Ads | Cost per click or engagement varies |
| Instagram Reels Ads | Cost per click or engagement varies |
| Instagram Explore Ads | Cost per click or engagement varies |
| Instagram IGTV Ads | Cost per view or engagement varies |
Also Read – Beginner’s Guide to Performance Marketing 2024
